June sees a few departures, a few pauses, and one huge event book. Let’s dig in.
10. See ya next semester, Naomi
Brian Bendis has said that “Naomi” will be on the ‘Hellboy style’ of releases, meaning miniseries with breaks in between, rather than a traditional ongoing. I think that’s an idea that should be embraced more in comics, though a brand new character seems like an odd one to choose for that style of storytelling.
However, if the cover is to be believed, and Naomi is going to be joining the Teen Titans…well, that’s a horse of a different color.
NAOMI #6
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS and DAVID F. WALKER
art and cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
This is it, the end of the first season of NAOMI by the breakout collaboration of writers Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell! With her origins finally revealed, Naomi embraces the journey ahead and charts a course for the future and her role.
ON SALE 06.19.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
FINAL ISSUE
9. Hard-travelin’ heroes!
This is everything I want from DC right now: a bold take on an iconic character, with hints/references back to classic stories, but turned totally on their ear. This fucking issue is called “Space Junkies.” C’mon! Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp are the best, you guys.
THE GREEN LANTERN #8
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
variant cover by TONI INFANTE
Green Lantern teams up with Green Arrow to stop a cosmic drug cartel that’s using Earth as its main distribution base! It’s a brilliant homage to the team-ups of old, as Morrison and Sharp do the 2019 version in a story we can only call “Space Junkies!”
ON SALE 06.05.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
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8. See ya, Bryan
Apparently last month’s #12 was the final issue with Bryan Hitch on art for “Hawkman.” While I was never the biggest Hitch fan (outside of one very specific example, which I’ll get to later), his work on this series has been stellar. I really though the series was going to end with #12, which would’ve served as both Hitch’s and the series’ finale, but it appears to be sticking around. Maybe Will Conrad can pull a similar trick and use this book to change my opinion about (some of) his art.
HAWKMAN #13
written by ROBERT VENDITTI
art and cover by WILL CONRAD
variant cover by INHYUK LEE
This issue, it’s a story from the pages of Hawkman’s journals! Travel back in time to when Carter Hall was reincarnated as a soldier in a cosmic army, while his people were at war! But what happens when a being known for constant reincarnation ends up coming back to life as his own enemy, fighting for the other side? Does it make him a more sympathetic warrior, or give him the weapons to better destroy his enemy?
ON SALE 06.12.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
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7. She blinded me with silence
“The Terrifics” survives.
Those who said that the ‘New Age of Heroes’ was the new ‘Bloodlines’ were pretty spot on, eh? I still think that the Silencer will be the new Hotman, if only because the Terrifics is more a collection of pre-existing ideas than a new concept. But the series is ending, still lasting about 12 issues more than I figured it would. I bet Honor Guest shows up in the relaunched “Suicide Squad” whenever that launches.
Continued belowTHE SILENCER #18
written by DAN ABNETT
art by V KEN MARION and SANDU FLOREA
cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and SANDRA HOPE
Honor Guest was the greatest assassin you’ve never heard of—but now the secret is out. In the month since Smoke’s devastating attack, the Silencer is on the lam from Leviathan and trying to piece her family life back together, and this is a challenge unlike any Honor has faced before. Will Honor’s past continue to plague her, or has she at last earned a peaceful respite from her life of murder and mayhem?
ON SALE 06.26.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
FINAL ISSUE
6. Sha-la-la-la
This cover is everything I want from the Super-family of books. The interiors are almost immaterial.
SUPERGIRL #31
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by KEVIN MAGUIRE and SEAN PARSONS
cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
variant cover by AMANDA CONNER
The House of El is united in this SUPERMAN/SUPERGIRL crossover! The Superman Family must unite to banish Rogol Zaar once and for all! But little do Supergirl, Superman, Superboy and Jor-El know, Rogol Zaar has brought some friends of his own…from the Phantom Zone! Supergirl not only has to make sure that Rogol Zaar doesn’t unite with his ax at all costs, but also has to deal with how the 10-year-old Superboy is now her age! This is the start of an intergalactic war you don’t want to miss!
ON SALE 06.12.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
5. R.I.P? Really? I’m Pessimistic
I’m sure Slade Wilson isn’t really dead, though I’m excited about Priest’s book dealing with a presumed death, because Priest does really well when obstructions are thrown in his way. Plus, bringing in the Legion of Doom does a similar thing; it allows Priest to interact with the larger DCU in a way that is different than how other books would handle such a crossover.
Basically, I’m here for whatever Priest wants to do.
DEATHSTROKE #44
written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
art by FERNANDO PASARIN
cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI and CAM SMITH
variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI
“DEATHSTROKE: RIP” starts here! Deathstroke is dead, secretly killed at the hands of a Teen Titan. As Slade’s closest friends, enemies and frenemies pay their respects (and disrespects) to the World’s Deadliest Assassin, some uninvited guests crash the event—the Legion of Doom! But what do they want with the body of the most lethal man on the planet? And will anyone find out who killed him? A brand-new storyline begins here…with an ending you won’t see coming!
ON SALE 06.05.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
4. Oh joy
I can’t help but be pessimistic about this book for…oh, all the reasons? Miller’s problematic last decade or so of work, Romita’s boxy weirdness, and the likely more violent/cynical stories than Superman should have. But I’ll give this the ol’ college try, because why not? These creators are capable of great things, even if those seem less likely every time they try.
SUPERMAN YEAR ONE #1
written by FRANK MILLER
art by JOHN ROMITA JR. and DANNY MIKI
cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and DANNY MIKI
cover by FRANK MILLER
From the burning world of Krypton to the bucolic fields of Kansas, the first chapter of SUPERMAN YEAR ONE tracks Clark Kent’s youth in Kansas, as he comes to terms with his strange powers and struggles to find his place in our world. DC BLACK LABEL is proud to present the definitive origin of Superman as rendered by the legendary comics creators Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.!
PRESTIGE FORMAT
ON SALE 06.19.19
$7.99 US | 1 of 3 | 64 PAGES
FC | APPROX. 8.5“ x 10.875” MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with two covers.
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3. Orlando returns
Steve Orlando’s run on “Wonder Woman” was an interesting bridge between a few longer runs, and I’m very glad to see DC continue to bring him into the book, even though his run has wrapped. Orlando is one of the modern masters of stitching together disparate parts of the DC Universe, and I’m excited to see him do so here, playing in G. Willow Wilson’s sandbox to help push her story a little further.
Continued belowWONDER WOMAN #73
written by STEVE ORLANDO
art by AARON LOPRESTI
cover by JESUS MERINO
variant cover by JENNY FRISON
As Wonder Woman and her compatriots travel through the broken realm, Diana relates the story of the real first time she left Themyscira…and traveled with her mother to a bizarre alternate version of their home, where Empress Hippolyta reigned with an iron fist! But the Empress didn’t take too kindly to their territorial incursion…and so Diana was forced to watch as her mother battled for her life against the worst possible version of herself! What other secrets did Dimension Chi conceal? And have any of them followed Diana back to our universe? Find out in this tale by guest-writer Steve Orlando that delivers a crucial piece of G. Willow Wilson’s epic storyline!
ON SALE 06.26.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
2. Until next time…
All signs point to “The Authority” launching soon. Warren Ellis said that this book will ‘transform’ into a new title for its third year, the story has brought together all the key players, and Bryan Hitch is now free from his “Hawkman” shackles. So, while this is the end of “The Wild Storm,” I doubt there will be too much downtime before Ellis brings these characters back.
That said, if this is the end of Jon Davis-Hunt on these characters, we need to salute him for some of the best sequential art of the past few years. This book is a masterclass on how to make a book that oscillates between super-dialogue heavy and silent violence not seem dull, choppy, or odd. Cheers, Jon.
THE WILD STORM #24
written by WARREN ELLIS
art and cover by JON DAVIS-HUNT
The final issue. The final act. IO has betrayed the world, and Skywatch wants to burn it. The only people in the middle are Jenny Mei Sparks’ ragtag team of wounded orphans of the secret world. The storm has hit. This is how it ends.
ON SALE 06.19.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
FINAL ISSUE
1. What a weird title
I’m all in for an event centered around DC’s clandestine organizations. Bringing back the Question? Dope. A six issue miniseries? Perfect length.
But calling it “Event Leviathan” is really odd. Sure, I bet there’s an in-story reason, but it reads either like they’re announcing that this is an event, or aping Event Horizon.
EVENT LEVIATHAN #1
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by ALEX MALEEV
variant cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
The groundbreaking and always-inventive team of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev (Jinxworld’s SCARLET, Marvel’s Daredevil) reunite on a mystery thriller that stretches across the DC Universe and touches every character from Batman to Superman to the Question to Talia al Ghul. With startling ease, a newly dangerous and aggressive Leviathan wipes out all its competition and now turns its sights to molding the world into its vision of order. Can the new threat’s growth be stopped…and who’s guiding its new agents of chaos?
ON SALE 06.12.19
$3.99 US | 1 of 6 | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.
Check out the full solicitations over at Newsarama.
